Many carnivores require large ranges to meet their ecological and energetic needs;however,anthropogenic changes threaten species and their habitats.Camera traps have been used to effectively collect data on car&...Many carnivores require large ranges to meet their ecological and energetic needs;however,anthropogenic changes threaten species and their habitats.Camera traps have been used to effectively collect data on carnivores in a variety of habitat types;however,a single survey effort is typically limited to species that have similar body size,habitat use and movement patterns,and individual identification of animals is not always possible.We evaluated whether scat detection dogs could effectively survey for 4 wide-ranging felids that vary in these characteristics:jaguars(Panthera onca),pumas(Puma concolor),ocelots(Leopardus pardalis)and oncillas(Leopardus tigrinus).From June to October 2009 and May to August 2011,a detection dog-handler team detected 588 scats,from which 176 unique genotypes were detected.We assigned sex to 84.7%of the genotyped scats and identified 55 individuals multiple times.The effectiveness of these noninvasive techniques(detection dogs and genetic analyses of scat)not only opens the door for additional studies in areas that were previously difficult or impossible with standard survey techniques,but also provides conservationists with a set of tools that overcome some of the limitations associated with the use of camera traps alone.展开更多
This paper is a review of the history,development and efficacy of using dogs in wildlife studies and considers the use of dogs in the research and conservation of wild tigers(Panthera tigris Linnaeus,1758).Using scat ...This paper is a review of the history,development and efficacy of using dogs in wildlife studies and considers the use of dogs in the research and conservation of wild tigers(Panthera tigris Linnaeus,1758).Using scat detection dogs,scent-matching dogs,law enforcement detection dogs and protection dogs are proven methods that can be effectively used on tigers.These methods all take advantage of the dog’s extremely evolved sense of smell that allows them to detect animals or animal byproducts(often the focus of tiger studies).Dogs can be trained to communicate this information to their handlers.展开更多
文摘Many carnivores require large ranges to meet their ecological and energetic needs;however,anthropogenic changes threaten species and their habitats.Camera traps have been used to effectively collect data on carnivores in a variety of habitat types;however,a single survey effort is typically limited to species that have similar body size,habitat use and movement patterns,and individual identification of animals is not always possible.We evaluated whether scat detection dogs could effectively survey for 4 wide-ranging felids that vary in these characteristics:jaguars(Panthera onca),pumas(Puma concolor),ocelots(Leopardus pardalis)and oncillas(Leopardus tigrinus).From June to October 2009 and May to August 2011,a detection dog-handler team detected 588 scats,from which 176 unique genotypes were detected.We assigned sex to 84.7%of the genotyped scats and identified 55 individuals multiple times.The effectiveness of these noninvasive techniques(detection dogs and genetic analyses of scat)not only opens the door for additional studies in areas that were previously difficult or impossible with standard survey techniques,but also provides conservationists with a set of tools that overcome some of the limitations associated with the use of camera traps alone.
文摘This paper is a review of the history,development and efficacy of using dogs in wildlife studies and considers the use of dogs in the research and conservation of wild tigers(Panthera tigris Linnaeus,1758).Using scat detection dogs,scent-matching dogs,law enforcement detection dogs and protection dogs are proven methods that can be effectively used on tigers.These methods all take advantage of the dog’s extremely evolved sense of smell that allows them to detect animals or animal byproducts(often the focus of tiger studies).Dogs can be trained to communicate this information to their handlers.
